This Training Grant, entering its 36th year, has a multidisciplinary faculty from both basic science and clinical departments within Stanford University School of Medicine. The training program is designed to offer postdoctoral trainees a unique and supportive environment in which to learn innovative approaches to the study of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. The trainees will pursue research in laboratories where established and cutting edge research programs take advantage of a spectrum of approaches ranging from molecular, cellular, and animal models to human subjects. Advanced molecular and genetic and translational techniques as well as classical clinical protocols and epidemiology are used to develop novel concepts and tools for the study of the physiology, pathophysiology and treatment of diseases of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism. The training faculty includes 12 investigators from 5 departments- Medicine/Endocrinology, Pediatrics/Endocrinology, Obstetrics/ Gynecology, Urology, and Developmental Biology- whose interests converge on 3 endocrine themes. Theme #1 Hormone Receptors/Signaling Pathways includes projects in the labs of: B. Feldman, D. Feldman, Hsueh, Kim, Kraemer, and Peehl. Theme #2 Genetics/Hormone-Dependent Cancer includes projects in the labs of Chua, B. Feldman, D. Feldman, Hoffman, Hsueh, Kim, Peehl, Reaven, and Stefanick. Theme #3 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Risk included projects in the labs of: McLaughlin, Kim, Kraemer, Reaven, Stefanick, and Wilson. Thus trainees have a wide choice of research projects but within a focus on several major lines of research. This Training Grant has been the core of the Endocrinology teaching program at Stanford providing support for 4 post-doctoral trainees, with either the M.D. or Ph.D. degrees. In addition to research training, the Training Grant, in conjunction with the School of Medicine, provides a rich environment of seminars, courses and conferences as well as core facilities all fostering a stimulating and productive training program with major interaction among trainees and mentors. The Training Grant faculty members are committed to continuing to recruit a diverse group of trainees and to making a strong effort to enlist trainees from under-represented minorities. Programs in the ethics of responsible research, grant writing, critical evaluation of the literature as well as many other courses and seminars enrich the training program. The goal of this Training Grant is to provide 1-2 years of support to promising postdoctoral scholars who will become the future leaders in endocrine research in both academia and in biotechnology. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The purpose of this Training Grant Proposal is to prepare qualified postdoctoral trainees in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism for scientific research careers that will have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of the United States. This training program will exploit Stanford University's world-class faculty and resources in the fields of basic and translational research in endocrinology. Trainees who graduate from this program will be unusually well-prepared to create and to apply new scientific discoveries to enhance public health in areas as diverse as diabetes, obesity and cancer.